A Formula 1 race car is more at home on the race track than in an art gallery. But the University of Tasmania is taking that notion and turning it on its head for its new exhibition, which is now open to the public. The Car Show is one for the revheads, and features the work of UTAS’ Hobart-based engineering students. As part of an international competition, Formula SAE, a team of about 30 students have designed, built and market a fully functional Formula 1 vehicle. Two previous years models are on display at the Academy Gallery for the show, curated by gallery director Malcom Bywaters. Mr Bywaters said the aim of the exhibition was two-fold. “We want to showcase some of the great work the university is doing but we also want to connect with the community outside the world of fine arts,” he said. The show is now open to the public. The first Formula 1 car is no stranger to the art world, it featured in the Treasures of UTAS exhibition. Mr Bywaters said seeing and showing the vehicle was the inspiration for the current exhibition. Engineering senior lecturer Jason Lavroff is leading the team working on the electric car and said UTAS had entered the competition for the past three years. “Students are asked to design and build a car for a motor enthusiast, so they have to run their team like a small company, and market and project the costs,” he said. Formula SAE is a global competition that is divided into region, so the Tasmanian team competes against about 30 universities in the Australasian region. The project culminates in a testing week, where all the teams come together to dynamically and statically test their vehicles. Mr Lavroff said this year is a special one, with the Tasmanian team attempting an electric vehicle for the first time. The electric vehicle is likely to be at the official opening of the academy gallery, at the end of the month. The static testing is held over the first few days of testing, with tests on acceleration and drag race testing. The next few days of testing is the dynamic testing where student drivers get to race the vehicles. Testing for this year’s Formula SAE will be held in December at Winton raceway.